Chapter 19 – Getting Famous

Once again, camera flashes appeared everywhere after everyone realized his identity. He squinted his eyes slightly and continued.

"The government needs to make a decision soon about this. This will not be the only time it happened. The monster wave will bring more and more dungeons to Earth. And no one knows how long before Scenario 2 arrives. If you want the US to survive the apocalypse, then you should allow people to run the dungeon. I believe we can go now?"

Rick was unsure. He looked at his colleagues, one of them who held a phone approached him and whispered something.

"Sir, it's the higher-ups." The colleague said with a serious expression, "They say we should let them go."

The police officer sighed loudly and turned back to Vale, "Fine, you can go."

Vale nodded at him and turned around to look at his team. Kiara looked sour and annoyed at him while Taylor and Jenny didn't know what to think. They just sighed and were grateful that this matter didn't become big.

While the group was walking to their van, Rick kept his eyes close to them. At that moment, he heard a voice calling to him. A familiar one.

"Rick! Over here!"

He turned around and saw his fellow police officer, Nolan Williams, waving his hand at him with a grin on his face. He was a friend of his and was also part of the force that contained the monsters two days ago.

"What's up?"

"Nothing." Rick shook his head and looked at Vale's group disappearing in their van, "Just a Survivor that just arrived to deal with the dungeon in front of us."

"Oh? Did you arrest them?"

"Nah, they are out. No law against running dungeons anyway, according to them." Rick explained. "Vale Gilstar was among them too. And Kiara Hunt."

"The first and second rank?" Nolan couldn't believe it and leaned his back on the police car, "That's crazy."

"Yeah..." He agreed. "Say, Nolan. Do you think the rules will be different? You know, the dungeon rules and anything."

"Isn't that natural?" Nolan shrugged his shoulders, "We can't expect the world to stay the same after... two days ago. Many people resigned or retired early. That was because they couldn't handle the pressure. Monsters are real and not just in a book anymore. And people have power and systems or whatnot."

He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up, breathing in the smoke before blowing it out from his mouth slowly.

"If the rules stay the same and we can't adapt, the Apocalypse will destroy us without mercy. I hope the higher ups understand that... Well, it might happen sooner or later. After they got hit by an explosive fact. Say, why don't we grab a beer later and talk about it? It's a topic better talked about while getting drunk."

Nolan patted his shoulder gently and smiled at him.

Thinking for a few seconds, Rick nodded at his colleague. "Yeah, let's get a beer together."

They didn't talk further after that.

***

"Vale Gilstar and Kiara Hunt. Heh! Those two are famous."

In a meeting room in the Pentagon, Aleksy Halych rubbed his chin and looked at the news playing on the screen in front of him. The picture of Vale and Kiara was on display, with a caption below them saying 'American Heroes'.

Many important people gathered here to talk about recruiting them to be put under the government. They were strong, a core part of humanity's survival against monsters. And the government wanted them to be loyal to them.

However, that was not an easy task.

"Loyalty is not something you can buy." A military officer said with a stern face. "Especially to someone as strong as those two. If we push them too hard, they will rebel."

"That's right." Another military officer added, "If I may, I suggest we limit their movements rather than restricting them completely. That way, they have room to breath and do things they want."

"We need them for the apocalypse, but we can't compromise with the law either." A middle-aged man in a suit, who was the Defense Secretary, said with a thoughtful look on his face, "Let's recruit them into the military or something. Get them enlisted and promote them to high ranks quickly. They can take care of things or represent our nation in something else."

"That won't work." Aleksy interrupted him with a shake of his head, "Both of them have a lot of experience fighting monsters on their own. Being under the government will tie them down and make them uncomfortable. If they joined the military, they won't be able to use their full potential. No, they might even refuse flatly."

"Then what do you suggest, Halych?" The Defense Secretary asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are we going to let those two wander around without any supervision?"

"Yes." He nodded. "That's the best option. If we put too much shackle on them, they will rebel. We have to respect their freedom to do whatever they want, whether it's running dungeon or killing monsters. Or create their own group."

The other officials looked at each other. They didn't like that idea at all. But none of them had a better suggestion.

Finally, the man with silver hair, President of US, James Harrison, made his decision.

"We will respect their freedom." He said with a firm tone, "However, we will monitor them closely and step in if necessary. As the new chairman of Apocalypse Emergency Department, that job will be left for you, Aleksy Halych."

"I understand, Mr. President." He bowed his head lightly as he received the order.

"Then, that's it for them. We will continue now. How's the situation in New York, LA, and Las Vegas? I am talking about gangs."

"Yes," Someone stood up while holding a stack of documents. "The gangs are more active. Survivors are noted to be among..."

The meeting continued. While it wasn't related to Vale and Kiara, the topic was still important for the government and their plan.